Omar

Omar Lye-Fook, MBE—born in London, England on 14 October 1968—is better known as soul singer and songwriter Omar. He is often acknowledged as the father of British neo-soul. The son of Jamaican drummer Byron Lee (Byron Lye-Fook), he grew up playing percussion but incorporated keyboards, bass, and guitar into his musical arsenal. As a singer and songwriter, he signed with his father’s label, Kongo Dance, and released his debut single, “Mr. Postman”, in 1985. He followed that up three years later with “You and Me” (1988). His debut album, There’s Nothing Like This, was released in 1990 and was a critical success. The album was reissued on the Talkin’ Loud label and climbed to number 19 on the UK Albums chart. The title track was issued as a single and reached number 14. Omar released his sophomore album, Music, in 1992. After a stint with RCA for the album For Pleasure (1994), Omar signed with the Tru Thoughts label and released the albums This Is Not a Love Song (1997), Best by Far (2001) and Sing (If You Want It) (2006). In 2012, he was honoured with the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to music. After the release of the album The Man (2013), he took a four-year break before returning with 2017’s Love in Beats, which featured musical assistance from Robert Glasper, Mayra Andrade, Leon Ware, and others. He returned in 2025 with new album Brighter The Days, featuring contributions from Scratch Professer, Paul Weller, Honey LaRochelle, and others.